


The Birth of the Hamato Thieves

by DrAwesome2000



Series: We are the Hamato Thieves. [2]
Category: Persona 5, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen, Hamato Thieves Universe, Persona Awakening, Team Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-23 03:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30048975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrAwesome2000/pseuds/DrAwesome2000
Summary: After defeating the Elite, Leonardo and the New York heroes wonder if they can awake to the power of Persona as well.Luckily, the Phantom Thieves are more than glad to help.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Donatello/April O'Neil (TMNT), Karai/Leonardo (TMNT), Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist, Phantom Thieves & Hamato/Foot Clans, Sakamoto Ryuji/Takamaki Ann
Series: We are the Hamato Thieves. [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084994
Comments: 5
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue.

“So…” Lavenza spoke up from the center of the Velvet Room. “…Leonardo and his family desire to see if they could awake to the power or Persona” She asked to the Phantom Thieves.

Joker answers with an affirmative nod. “Yes. He said he and the others were wondering that since we went to Grand Nikko and just when we walked out of the theatre and I got this card, they asked me and Queen if they could awake their own Personae”.

The Phantom Thieves were currently reunited inside the Velvet Room. Right after returning from their double date with Leo and Karai, Lavenza returned from properly punishing Belial and sent him back to her compendium. Right there, all the New-Yorkers told the thieves about what Leo told the thief leaders and after a moment of consideration, Morgana decided to take all of the thieves to the Velvet Room to both give the question a good rain-check and for Lavenza to give something especial to the thieves since Akira acquired the “Shadow of Grief” skill card for Satanael.

Speaking of, the Velvet Room has had a considerable change in scenery since Akira broke free from the chains of captivity Yaldabaoth tied him with just for his own amusement.

The Velvet Room is a manifestation of the guest’s heart, and giving the fact that Akira felt like a prisoner during all that year as a Thief, his manifestation of the Velvet Room was a prison. However, now that he broke free from his chains and started to work hard in being more open with his friends and now the New-Yorkers as well, the place was completely different from the prison Akira used to see it as.

The Velvet Room was now a much larger version of the attic in LeBlanc – the place he considered his second home – but decorated with the signature aesthetic of the Velvet Room. On the walls, countless photos and decorations from the good memories he gathered with the thieves and his confidants were present around the place, along with many comfortable-looking chairs, the desk where he made infiltration tolls and even a huge couch like the one in the attic were present as well, not too far from the guillotines, the gallows and the cell where he puts Personae in Lockdown. The walls, floor and ceiling had a couple of small but clearly visible cracks and fissures (a pretty possible reference to Akira’s PTSD), but also, they were more of them that were properly fixed (a clear reference that Akira was doing great with his recovery from such fairly traumatic experiences; thanks a lot, Dr. Maruki).

But now back to the current topic. The thieves remained in thought for a few seconds before, Joker spoke up first. “If you guys ask me, I’m ok with that” The other thieves and the assistant turned to him as he kept speaking. “Look, as Lavenza told us before, thanks to that cup asshole, we can use our Personae in the real world until Igor fixes all that inter-dimensional mess, so if Leo and the others want to see if they can awake their own Personae… well, why the hell not?”

The other thieves shared a curious glance, and then nodded to their leader with excited grins.

“Sounds good to me, leader; I think it’ll be kick-ass.” Skull cheerfully said first.

“If they want to, what reason we have not to let them?” Followed by Panther, sharing the excitement.

“It will be truly an artistically inspiring experience for me” Fox said next.

“I’m excited to see what happens; I hope they can awake their power as well” Noir cheerfully says.

“No kidding. If they can, it will be totally awesome!” Oracle said right after Noir.

“Hey, y’all think they’ll want to do a test run on their Personae if they can get ’em?” Pumpkin said with a finger on his chin and a grin on his warthog face.

“Ha ha ha ha! I can already see Personae sparring sessions with ninja mutants!” Diamond cackled as he cracked his knuckles in excitement. “Pretty sure they will be better than Panther or Skull”

“Hey, we’re still here!” Skull groaned. Both him and Panther wincing at the memories of the sparring sessions they had with Pumpkin and Diamond as well as with Joker and Queen.

None of them were nice experiences…

“Then it’s unanimous.” Mona spoke firmly but with a smile on his face. “We will check if our new friends from NY can get that power!” The thieves cheered; excited to see how this goes.

“Now that the first topic was taken care of,” Lavenza said as she walked next to the work desk. “Let us proceed to the next topic: as today, we shall grant you your Persona traits”

“Traits?” Joker asked with a tilt of his head. “What are those?”

Mona hops at the work desk and explains. “Traits are especial Persona passive skills that don’t take a slot and can be passed by through fusion in case Joker wishes to fuse a Persona”

“Like the ability on a Pokémon” Oracle says with a hand raised as high as she could and a huge grin on her face.

The non-cat nods in agreement. “Good example, Oracle”.

“That is, of course, in case of the Trickster fusing Personae” Lavenza takes her turn to keep with the explanation. “In case of people like you whom can only have one Persona, you possess a unique trait that aids both yourselves and your teammates as well.

“For example; my trait is **_Majestic Presence!_** ” Mona exclaims with his usual smug attitude, nose high up the air. “Which increases the power of healing spells by 50% either from me or an ally” He grinned smugly, expecting his friends to be surprised. Only to see they’re just staring at him in slight confusion. “Hey, why aren’t you guys surprised about it?” The non-cat asked confused.

The rest of the thieves shared an awkward glance between each other. And Pumpkin decided to speak for everyone. “Don’t get us wrong, Kitty Kat; your trait sounds pretty cool and all that jazz, but…”

“…Seems a little useless when both you and Joker already have both Salvation and Samarecarm and Queen has Mediaharan” Panther finishes for him.

“Maybe for Diamond’s Mediarama, but still… Sorry, Mona-Chan; not very impressive” Noir joins in.

“True; that’s what I thought as well at first” Mona scratched his cheek with a front paw before continuing. “But, when either I or any of you guys use a healing spell, my trait has a chance to allow you only use half of the SP you’d usually spend on them” At the rest of that, the thieves shared murmurs of agreement.

“Hey, that’s sounds more convenient, now; we could save SP, very the valuables when in hard battles” Diamond nodded.

“A little inconsistent, perhaps; but, still better than nothing” Fox agreed as Lavenza unsheathed a sheet of paper.

“Since the Trickster’s case is quite more complicated regarding traits and his Wild Card power, Morgana and I shall need his assistance in the Velvet Room to modify his roster with the Traits he considered appropriate since he may have to change some of their skills” She passed the sheet to Makoto. “However, there is information of the traits of each one of the rest of the Phantom Thieves”

As Queen received the sheet, she cleared her throat and read with a professional voice the trait of each one of her companions.

> **Makoto – Gaia’s Blessing:** Increases allies’ chance to inflict Burn, Freeze or Shock by 50%
> 
> **Ryuji – Eccentric Temper:** May increase the power of allies’ physical attacks by 80%
> 
> **Ann – Pinnacle of Magic:** Chance to decrease the SP cost of allies’ magic attacks by half.
> 
> **Yusuke – Unparalleled Eyes:** May increase allies’ chance to avoid physical attacks.
> 
> **Haru – Cool Costumer:** Decreases allies’ chance of being inflicted by ailments by 50%
> 
> **Bebop – Chaos Control:** The effect of allies’ debuff spells last twice as long (one minute).
> 
> **Rocksteady – Survival Training:** Allies receive half damage from all attacks as long as their health is above 50%
> 
> **Futaba – Infinite Scheme:** All-out attacks may defeat all enemies as well as fully restore allies’ health.

“We just need to make a few modifications in the Trickster’s roster with their traits and skills and we shall end this meeting” The assistant says as she takes both Joker and Mona to the gallows to improve his Personae.

The other thieves already heard a proper explanation about the gallows from Joker, then from Mona as well. Still, it was fascinating in a weird way how a Persona was hanged in order to be turned into experience for another Persona as well as another way to gain skill they wouldn’t get by orthodox means.

After a couple of minutes in the gallows (and an unexpected but totally appreciated shit-ton of good luck as he rapidly got the desired skills for his Personae), Joker proudly presented the improvements he made with his Personae roster via a sheet of paper read aloud.

> **Satanael – Immunity:** Impart Immunity to all status ailments.
> 
> Skills: Eigaon, Maeigaon, Riot Gun, One-Shot Kill, Ali Dance, Victory Cry, Drain Phys and Shadow of Grief.
> 
> **Splinter – Will of the Sword:** The multiplying effect of Charge/Concentrate raises from x2.5 to x3.
> 
> Skills: Brave Blade, Swift Strike, Charge, Regenerate 3, Arms Master, Apt Pupil, Unshaken Will and Ali Dance.
> 
> **Mada – Drunken Passion:** Reduces SP cost of Fire skills by 75%
> 
> Skills: Inferno, Blazing Hell, Drain Bless, Drain Curse, Drain Ice, Fire Amp, Burn Boost, Ali Dance.
> 
> **Black Frost – Cocytus:** Reduces SP cost of Ice skills by 75%
> 
> Skills: Diamond Dust, Ice Age, Ice Boost, Ice Amp, Freeze Boost, Life Aid, Ali Dance and Drain Bless.
> 
> **Odin – Bargain Bolts:** Reduces SP cost of Elec skills by 75%
> 
> Skills: Thunder Reign, Wild Thunder, Heat Riser, Insta-Heal, Elec Boost, Elec Amp, Shock Boost and Ali Dance.
> 
> **Isis – Vahana’s Wings:** Reduces SP cost of Wind skills by 75%
> 
> Skills: Panta Rhei, Vacuum Wave, Wind Boost, Wind Amp, Drain Psy, Drain Wind, Ali Dance and Life Aid.
> 
> **Kohryu – Chi You’s Blessing:** Reduces SP cost of Psy skills by 75%
> 
> Skills: Psycho Force, Psycho Blast, Psy Boost, Psy Amp, Drain Psy, Drain Curse, Life Aid and Ali Dance. 
> 
> **Titania – Atomic Hellscape:** Reduces SP cost of Nuke skills by 75%
> 
> Skills: Atomic Flare, Cosmic Flare, Nuke Boost, Nuke Amp, Drain Psy, Drain Bless, Drain Curse and Ali Dance. 
> 
> **Metatron – Martyr’s Gift:** Reduces SP cost of Bless skills by 75%
> 
> Skills: Kougaon, Makougaon, Drain Elec, Drain Bless, Drain Curse, Ali Dance, Bless Boost and Bless Amp. 
> 
> **Trumpeter – Wealth of Lotus:** Buff spells for party last longer than usual (one minute).
> 
> Skills: Megidolaon, Concentrate, Debilitate, Auto-Mataru, Auto-Maraku, Auto-Masuku, Life Aid and Ali Dance.
> 
> **Cybele – Grace of Mother:** Reduces SP cost of healing spells by 75%
> 
> Skills: Salvation, Samarecarm, Diaharan, Dekunda, Ali Dance, Drain Elec, Drain Curse and Drain Phys.
> 
> **Alice –Pagan Allure:** Increases the power of all magic skills by 50%
> 
> Skills: Eigaon, Die For Me! Megidolaon, Concentrate, Drain Bless, Ali Dance, Spell Master and Mudo Boost.

Joker folds the paper and speaks to his partners “Ok. Now that this is finally taken care of, let’s tell Leo and the ninjas they can see if they could have a Persona” The rest of the thieves cheered in excitement, all of them eager to see what deities or historical figures will awake from the New Yorkers as their spirits of rebellion. But when they were going to the exit, Joker called them out with a stern face and a raised finger.

“Still, it would be wise to explain them the process of awakening first; just in case” The other thieves quickly nodded, all of them wincing a little in pain at the memories of how they unleashed their rebellious spirits.

Still worth it, they thought.


	2. First, a fair warning...

While the Phantom Thieves and Lavenza were still busy at The Velvet Room, Leo and the rest of the New York-Heroes were waiting for them at the living room of their Dorms/HQ in Hiroo, the Phantom Lair. All of them either were chatting, goofing around on their phones and/or playing with Ice Cream Kitty and Chompy to bide their time until the thieves returned.

Right after the thieves emerged from the bright blue door; the ninjas and the Hockey-Player reunited in front of them with expecting, serious expressions.

“Well…?” Leonardo asked, expecting a positive answer, a serious expression still present on his face.

The Phantom Thieves shared a knowing glance and Akira turns to the turtle leader with his signature smirk. “Yes, we will help you awake your Personae, if possible”

The New Yorkers tried to cheer at the good news, but April managed to stop the small celebration with both hands raised. “Hold on, hold on” As her partners quickly turned to her, she explained. “That’s cool and all… But I’m sensing a _but_ coming” She gave the thieves a raised eyebrow.

“That is correct” Makoto clarified to the New Yorkers. “If you wish to unleash the power of Persona, first we must properly explain you how the process was for us as it will probably be the same for you, too”

The ninjas nodded to the thief advisor and everyone quickly got on their seats on the living room.

With now everyone ready, the thieves began explaining. “Well…” Morgana speaks from Shinigami’s lap with a serious expression. “Let’s get to the point”

Ann is the first one to speak. “What happened with us last year was when we went to the Metaverse, somebody – usually a Palace’s ruler – appeared and pissed the hell out of us to the point where we wanted to rebel and fight back”

Makoto continues with the explanation. “When that happens, your own shadow calls you out, and with your absolute consent, begins the process of fusing with you and become your Persona. We call this ‘Awakening’” She met their gazes; none of them didn’t flinch or back down at all. “However, we must warn you: the process very rarely lasts longer that a whole minute. But… is unbearably painful. And I mean, unbearable”

“How unbearable are we talking about here?” Donnie asks with an unfazed face.

“Imagine the worst headache you’ve ever had on your life and multiply for eleven” Ryuji takes his turn to explain.

“So we feel our heads are being raped by a jackhammer, is that all?” Raph asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Had a feeling you’d say that, but there’s more” Akira says “Once the awakening culminates, a mask will appear on your face and you have to rip it off. It hurts as hell, too. And there’s blood”

The New Yorkers remained in silent thought for a few second, sharing a wordless conversation among themselves. Then Leo decides to break the ice. “Did you all have to go through exactly all of that?”

“Yes” Akira speaks matter-of-factly. “Of course, there were a few exceptions”

“Haru and I didn’t have to deal with the bloody mask part” Futaba speaks up from her seat in his signature squatting position. “Mona already had his Persona when Igor created him and Bebop and Rock didn’t have to deal with the headache. They still got it bad, though”

“What happened?” Mikey asks to the Pig and The Rhino.

“We got blood in eyes… and felt nasty gross” The ninjas quickly hissed in sympathetic pain at Steranko’s blunt answer.

Haru quickly speaks up next. “But if you ask us, it is completely worth it and we’d never trade it for the world”

“I could not agree more to that” Yusuke adds. “Once you remove that mask and unleash the soul of your rebellion, an incomparable sensation of freedom quickly fills your soul like nothing in the world ever could” He says with a dramatic pose, a hand covering his face and a smile on his face at how great he felt the first time he awoke Goemon (now Kamu Susano-o).

“Yeah, the feelin’ that you can get back at those fools for messing with ya feels like you hit the Big Time!” Bebop speaks with a huge grin on his snout. “I’m telling y’all, if you can get this power, stop foolin’ around and get it! Hee-hee-heeee!”

Makoto rolled her eyes at her partners and turned back to the ninjas. “That being said, that is all we needed to tell you. Are you still sure you wish to see if you can awake a Persona?”

The ninjas didn’t take any time to think about it as Karai spoke for everyone. “Definitely; you told us that having a Persona allows you to have a much better control of your emotions and desires. If that will help us with never losing sight of ourselves” She stood up from her seat and flashed a confident smirk. “Then be damn sure we will take that chance”

“There you have it, Makoto; our final answer” Leo concluded with the rest of the New York-heroes nodding in agreement and the thieves nodded back. 

“Then it is decided” Lavenza stood up her seat and summoned another door to the Velvet Room. “Come, dear friends form another earth and see if you are worthy of the awakening process”

Without any hint of hesitation, everyone followed Lavenza through the blue door.

“Dude, no wonder they call this place the ‘Velvet Room’…” Casey said as he gazed at his surroundings. “There’s too much blue if you ask me, yo”

“You get used to it pretty quick” Joker said with a faint chuckle and scratching his nape. A sudden itch in the back of his head causes him to stiffen a little, attracting the attention of everyone else.

“Are you ok, Joker?” Oracle asks concerned for her de facto big brother.

“Yes, yes I am” He says as he scratches the back of his head a bit more. “One of my Personae is begging to come out right now” He turns to the ninjas with a knowing smile. “And I’m pretty sure you already know which one is” 

“Makes sense for the old rat wanting to see the whole thing in first line” Ryuji muttered with a small grin, Raph, Casey, Futaba and Mikey chuckled along with him.

With a nod from the rest of his friends, Joker walked to the center of the room and engulfed his mask with the signature blue flames of his rebellious spirit. Right behind him, Splinter appeared, being back to back with the trickster. Right after being summoned from Joker’s heart, the former sensei of the Hamato Clan walked to his first family with his usual stern yet fatherly expression.

“Leonardo, I must warn you all one more time…” He spoke with a hand resting on Leo’s shoulder. “Once you awake to this power, it shall stay with you for the rest of your lives. There is no turning back from this point. Are you absolutely sure you wish to do this?”

With a stiff nod, the turtle leader rests a hand on the Mutant-Persona’s. “We appreciated your concern, father. But we’ve never been surer of something in our lives. If this can help us to keep sight on our paths on the future, we will accept it.”

“Besides” Raph quickly adds. “Pretty sure this will help us when we have to deal with another super-natural disaster now that we can travel between two worlds for maybe the rest of the summer.

“How sure are you there will be another super-natural disaster?” Haru asks with a tilt of her head.

A tilt from which Casey turns to her, deadpanned. “Noir, have you met us? Dealing with super-natural disasters is basically part of our résumé at this point”

At the response, Splinter gave a stiff nod and a smile to his first family. “Very well, let us begin” And turns back to his summoner. “Joker, please stay where you are right now” With a confused shrug, the leader of the Phantom Thieves sits down and at the moment Splinter walked back to behind him, he fished out of his robe an ancient-looking book with the logos of both Hamato and New Foot clans on its dark-brown cover. At the moment Splinter opens the book, a great amount of flames emanated from its pages in the form of a blue fiery whirlwind, much to everyone’s amazement (Mikey tried to roast a pizza slice he kept as reserve on the whirlwind, but Raph slapped him). The flame whirlwind quickly separated into countless flame lines that collided on the ground, and right as they dissipated, a bright blue circle divided in eight equal slices appeared on the floor with Joker and Splinter on its center. 

“Now…” Splinter spoke up as he closed the book. “Everyone step into a slice of the circle and point your weapons to me and Joker” The New Yorkers did as they were told and got into their positions in the following clock-wise order: Leo, Karai, Donnie, Casey, Mikey, Raph, Shinigami and April. Two Katanas, two Sais, two Nunchakus, a Bo staff, a Tessen, a Wakizashi sword, a Hypno-Stone/Kusarigama and a Hockey Stick pointed at the sitting trickster and his Persona. 

The rest of the Persona-Users and the young assistant gazed at the scene in a stunned yet comfortable silence as a blue flame appeared in front of each New Yorker, right above their pointed weapons. “When Joker gives the signal, all flames but one will disappear, the one with the flame still lit will be the first one to awake this power, understood?” The Ninjas and the Trickster nodded to Splinter, ready for this moment. There was a noticeable tension in the circle as the New Yorkers had to decide randomly who was going to be first.

With a last nod between Persona and summoner, Joker closed his eyes with for a few seconds with deep breathing, waiting for the perfect moment to give the signal as both the ninjas and the thieves anxiously waited to know who was first.

After a few seconds, Joker’s eyes shut open, flashing the golden hue when summoning a Persona and waved a hand with his signature strong determination.

“ **NOW!** ”

All the flames dissipated.

…all except for one.


	3. The Fiery Kinght...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a lot to Shifty_cat for a little suggeston they (I don't know if Shifty is a guy or a girl, ok?) gave me for Personae for the turtles.

“Well…” Joker spoke among the silent ninjas as he found the only blue flame that remained lit. “Seems you’re the first one…” Everyone else turned to the one who has his flame still lit…

…Raphael.

“Well… that was quick” The turtle with the red bandanna spoke with a hint of surprise finding out he was the first one to awake his power.

Mikey and Casey bemoaned while he other ninjas grumbled softly with a hint of disappointment.

Leo just started with clear disbelief. “You know, I actually thought for a second I was gonna be the first one…”

Raph just scoffed at his brother. “Just cause’ you n’ Karai are leaders doesn’t mean you must go first in stuff like this, Leo” He walked right in front of Joker and Splinter just at the moment Lavenza arrived as well. “Alright, sensei; bring up the power” The turtle spoke with determination.

As Splinter opened the book, the assistant of the Velvet Room spoke up with her usual unfazed expression. “In order to determine if you can awake to the power of Persona, first, you must read this contract and after that sign your name on it…” Her eyes hardened slightly. “…with your blood”

The eyes on both the ninjas and the thieves widened quite a lot. “Signing with blood!?” Oracle asked with clear shock “I-I know it’s not even half as bad as the headache and the bloody mask, but it’s still a little messed up”

“We understand, Futaba” Splinter calmly to the hacker. “But we do not make the rules; it was already decided here when I got the book” He said as he showed Raph the page on the left with the contract. The turtle got a little closer and read the following paragraph.

_You, who wish to awaken the power of Persona…_

_If you truly wish to gain control of your desires, one single question you must answer before signing your name with your blood…_

_…why do you wish to embrace the power hidden within your soul?_

_…and please, be fully honest…_

Raph instantly scowled in disgust. He hated being showing his hidden side to his friends due to fear of being teased and called a softie. But he knew as well if seven teenage dorks and even two morons like Bebop and Rocksteady could get this power, so can he. Besides, he said it before: this will both help them never lose sight of their path and help them a lot whenever another super-natural disaster occurs (which knowing the New Yorkers, it was crystal clear it was going to happen, anyway…).

“Well, Raph…” The turtle startled a little at Joker’s voice. He turns to his left to see the Trickster next to Lavenza and Splinter, his eyes piercing through him with a deep albeit caring gaze. “…tell us, why do you want to get your persona?” The question came out of pure affectionate concern as well.

The turtle took a deep breath, let it out and began to explain. “Because I had enough of it, you know…” Despite the reluctance in his voice, he continued. “…all the time being a huge jerk with my brothers and friends just because I can’t properly control these stupid anger issues sometimes…”

“That bad, huh…” Joker asked softly and Raph shook his head.

“You have no idea, man.” He turns to the rest of his partners. “Every time I ‘feel misunderstood’ or just got way too angry outside of battle – which is _MUCH_ more often that I want it to be –, I quit the team thinking I can deal with bad guys all by myself as if I’m some kinda lonely wolf or something”

“Wait a minute…” Mona speaks in disbelief as he turns to the other ninjas. “So when he told Noir and I he quit your clan 28 times out of simple temper tantrums, was that actually true!?”

“Yep.” Donnie answers with a small smile. “Every single time, you almost could say it’s practically _his_ thing”

“And all those times, he just got in more trouble and we have to bail his shell out” April added.

“Not to mention the times WE got in trouble thanks to Raph’s tantrums” Leo continued with a deadpan, but he wasn’t upset at his brother.

“In life, I have told Raphael to control his anger instead of letting it control him…” Splinter joined the conversation with a soft expression. “…but as we all know, it is not an easy task for to achieve; especially for him”

Raph turned back to Joker and Lavenza with a “You see what I mean?” face and a hand gesture. 

“Yikes…” Joker hissed. Queen and Skull winced slightly in silence, sympathizing with Raph for having anger issues of their own as well; especially Queen.

“But you know what?” His eyes were burning again with his well-known fighting spirit. “I’ve had enough of it! I’m done keep pretending this ‘lonely wolf’ crap only for it to return five minutes later and bite me in the shell just cause’ I can’t control my anger!” He turns to his friends and brothers. “You guys are embarrassing and annoying most of the time, sometimes even to unbearable levels…” He turned back to Lavenza and Splinter as he removed the bandages of his right hand. “But this place, no. This family… is where I belong. And like hell gonna let anyone hurt any of you guys; not if I can say something about it!” He gave Lavenza his open hand. “Let’s get this over with!”

“Show’em what you got, bro!” Mikey cheered as his brother prepared to sign the contract. 

Meanwhile, nodding in agreement, the young blue girl took Raph’s hand and made an incision on his index finger. Raph hissed faintly as Lavenza extracted enough blood to fill a small ink vase and give it to him along with a hand writing plume, right before healing his finger.

With the writing plume and the ink vase in his grasp, Raph wasted no time signing his name on the bottom of the page. Right after signing, the letters of the contract started to glow in bright-blue light, followed by something appearing on the right page. A few letters that read “ _rest your right hand here, please_ ” appeared at the top of the page.

With a confused stare followed by a shrug, Raph placed his right hand on the marked page and it started to glow with the same bright-blue. With a scoff, Raph turned to the Phantom Thieves with a mocking smile “What did you know? Is not gonna be as hard as you guys had it” He gloated a little, unaware that the contract disappeared…

…and was instantly replaced by many long nails.

“ **Raph, look out!** ” Just at the moment Leo shouted, the book clamped Raph’s hand, the many nails piercing the palm through its hand, leaving the fingers intact, as if it was some sort of Iron Maiden especially created for hands.

Everyone in the room except for Splinter and Lavenza screamed in shock at the sight. Raph practically screamed bloody murder as the nails that emerged from the book pierced through his entire hand (except for the fingers), with many blood droplets emerging from the book and hitting the floor as the turtle kept groaning in agony.

“Get it off of me!!” Raph screamed with a mixture of pain and anger as he shook his hand as much as he could to shake the book off of his hand, but his efforts were fruitless. “GET IT---!”

“ _Have you finally realized it…?_ ”

Raph froze with a gasp as he suddenly felt something piercing through his skull. And it was even worse than the nails on the book…

“ _Will you finally stop this ‘Lonely wolf’ charade and stick with your family through hell or high water…?_ ”

The ninjas watched both still shocked by the sudden book clamp and now concerned for Raph’s well-being, the thieves watched with a mixture of pride and sympathy as the turtle with the red bandanna clutched his head with his free hand and stumbled around, groaning loudly, clearly in great pain.

“ _If you truly wish to use the scorching rages within your soul to only protect those close to you or those who cannot defend themselves…”_

Raph gritted his teeth as hard as he could. He swore he could feel them cracking.

_“Then let us forge the contract at once… I have been waiting quite a while, mind you…!_ ”

Finally, his legs gave up and fell on his knees, his left hand never leaving his head. The rest of the ninjas and thieves watched with concern as Splinter did so as hoping for his son to endure all of it.

“ ** _I am thou… Thou art I…_** _for those who endanger both the weak and our loved ones to satisfy their twisted desires… let us make them realize their fatal mistakes… **with the unyielding flames of our wrath!**_ ”

The voice suddenly disappeared from his head as well as the pain, just like that. The book finally released its deadly grip on his right hand and returned to Splinter, Raph’s hand still covered in blood due to the many spikes that pierced through its palm. As if he didn’t went through the most intense headache of his life just a moment ago, Raph calmly got back on his feet as a blood-red mask with flames at both sides manifested on his face. Everyone took a few steps back as Raph gripped both sides of the mask and with a hard tug, it let loose with a spray of blood as with a grin that exuded a mixture of satisfaction and controlled rage, Raph called out for his other self.

“ _Perceval!_ ”

A plump of blue fire suddenly enveloped the turtle with a strong gust of wind blowing from the fire in all directions. The other New Yorkers gazed upon it with a mixture of shock and amazement while the Phantom Thieves stared at it with proud smiles. Within seconds, the fire settled down, revealing a completely transformed Raphael. The best everyone else in the room could describe his new attire was a bright Ruby-Red medieval armor with Golden plates on its chest, shoulders, elbows and knees. A golden belt with flame patterns and on his head, there was a matching knight helmet with horns that pretty much resembled a Viking helmet. The golden plate on his chest had a lightning-like crack exactly where his shell does have one.

Right behind him was his Persona: a tall bulky and proud-looking medieval knight wearing a bright armor made of white-hot metal, as if he just emerged from the center of the sun itself. The Persona had its head completely covered by a medieval helmet with a great dark-red mane on top and was wielding a menacing-looking fire-enveloped morning star mace on his right hand and on his left hand, he had a turtle shell-like shield made of fiery white fire with the symbol of the Hamato Clan on its face. 

“Raph…” Leo whispered out of amazement.

“Holy mother-effer…!” Skull muttered, impressed at the fiery looks of Raph’s manifested soul.

“I gotta admit; THAT looks pretty cool…” Oracle said bluntly as she prepared her phone camera while Yusuke quickly framed at the newly-born Persona.

“Well… hello, Persona…” Raph said as he unsheathed both of his Sais, which was covered in fiery flames as well. “…this… This freakin’ rocks!” He said with a huge grin, as if he was a child whom just got a brand cool toy.

Without wasting time, the thieves, the other ninjas (and Casey) gathered around Raph and Perceval. All of them amazed at this moment.

“A Knight made of burning metal… Somehow it kind fits Raph” Donnie was the first to speak.

“I kinda wanna touch him, but I fear I may get burned or somethin’!” Bebop was the next to join.

“Aren’t you immune to fire, though?” Queen asked.

“Still…! Such valiant aspect…!” Yusuke said, still framing both turtle and Persona. “Such powerful fiery aura emanating from both of them!” He looked down with a hint of shame. “Damn! I can’t wait enough to capture it on my sketchbook…”

“And check his affinity!” Futaba added. “It’s more than awesome for an initial Persona!” Futaba said as she showed her friends the affinity of Perceval, and indeed, he was pretty resilient for an initial Persona.

“No fair!” Ann bemoaned in dismay. “I wish Hecate was THIS resilient!” She shook her head, calming down and flashed Raph a cheerful smile. “Still, congratulations, Raph; you’re officially one of us!”

“One of us! One of us!” Both Futaba and Rocksteady chanted.

“Are you guys shittin’ me!?” The other New Yorkers and thieves turned around to a shouting Ryuji, whom was still recovering from the shock of witnessing such moment. “Not only Raph had to deal with the awful headache and the bloody mask, too; he ALSO had to deal with a creepy-ass book **_eating his hand!?_** ”

“Actually, Ryuji… I agree with Haru and Yusuke” The turtle said as he walked out of the circle with the other Phantom Thieves. “This… was totally worth it; headache, bloody mask and even creepy book included!”

“Well, if you say so…” Ryuji muttered as he walked with them, then, his usual upbeat attitude returned as he wrapped an arm around the turtle’s back. “But, I agree with Ann: welcome to the Persona-User club, Raph!”

“Well…?” The other New York heroes turned to Splinter as he spoke with an amused expression. “Are you ready to continue?” With a mixture of determination and eagerness, Leo, Donnie, Mikey, Karai, April, Shigami and Casey returned to their places as the circle remerged, this time divided in seven equal slices as Raph already got his Persona. They pointed their weapons back at the thief leader and the small blue flames return.

“Alright…” Joker said with his usual smirk as he stood back on the center of the circle along with Splinter and Lavenza. “…who’s next?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perceval - Chariot Arcana.
> 
> Trait - Turtle Shield: Chance to protect an ally or himself from a single-target attack (reduces damage taken by 50% when activates). Higher chance to protect allies with low health.
> 
> Affinity:  
> Weaknesses: Ice.  
> Resist: Phys, Bless and Curse.  
> Immunities: Gunfire and Fire. 
> 
> Current Skills:  
> Agilao  
> Maragion  
> Assault Dive  
> Heat Wave  
> Tarukaja  
> Fire Boost  
> Fortify Spirit  
> Dodge Ice 
> 
> Background:  
> One of the proud knights that belonged to Arthur's round table. First made famous by Chretien de Troyes, he was the original hero in the quest for the Holy Grail.
> 
> P.S. I added the "Graphic Violence" warning due to the book part.
> 
> Thanks and have a nice day. :)


	4. A Witch's Promise...

“ **NOW!** ” At Joker’s shout, the remaining seven flames dissipate except for one. The Trickster, Lavenza and Splinter turns to the remaining flame. “You’re next…” Akira spoke to the ninja who had the lit flame…

…this time, Shinigami’s flame remained.

“Well…” The Foot witch retracts her weapon and walks to the three on the center. “…here goes nothing”

The ninja witch walked to the center of the circle. Splinter opens the book on the page where Shinigami will sign her contract.

“Very well, Shinigami…” Lavenza spoke, standing next to Joker and Splinter. “As you have gazed upon like with Raphael, you need to be fully honest on the reason you wish to awake your Persona…”

Shinigami nodded to the Velvet assistant and heaved a deep breath she didn’t knew she was holding all this time. Knowing there was no reason for excuses, she spoke up with a melancholic tone. “When I was a child… I really wished to train as a mystic witch just as my parents and my grandmother did. But… every time I asked them to let me follow their path my parents told me that I couldn’t, because I’d never pass the initiation”

The rest of the ninjas and thieves just watched with sympathy forming on their faces as Shinigami kept speaking. “…but, my grandmother? She was ecstatic when I told her I wish to follow her path despite my parents’ protests…”

She took a deep breath before continuing. “The training was hell, that’s for sure… sometimes, I just wanted to quit, run away and never come back. Sometimes I cried myself to sleep in my room, but grandma said it was natural because only the best of the best in our family could become mystic witches and sorcerers…” Joker, Splinter and Lavenza watched silently as she wiped a tear forming on her right eye. “…but, she never gave up on me. She… she stood up with me every moment. Like Splinter here, she was pretty stern but she wanted only the best for me… It was thanks to her that I was going to make it… and I promised to her that I‘d proved to her she did right sticking with me every second of my mystic training…”

“That’s true” Everyone turned to Karai as she continued for her, sympathy was clear on both her face and her voice. “She even gave Shini her Kusarigama and Hypno Stone as an ‘Early Graduation Gift’ and when Shini made that promise, her grandmother made one of her own: that she would be present the day she completed her initiation as a mystic witch”

The ninjas and thieves stared with wide eyes and mouths agape after hearing such deep backstory. “Wooowwww…” To no one’s surprise, Mikey broke the silence; still, he was being as respectful as he could. “Now THAT’S deep, Shini.”

“Well, I don’t see any problem with that” Haru spoke next. “I’m pretty sure things went well for you and your grandmother, Shini-chan”

“Not exactly, Haru. I really wanted to fulfill that promise with her, but I couldn’t… In fact” She said, using every ounce of will power on her voice for not to crack. “…I can’t even speak to her anymore…”

A confused silence remained in the room before the thieves widened their eyes in shock. Steranko was the one who broke the silence. “Wait! Don’t tell us she…”

Karai nodded sadly. “Yep. Shini’s grandmother passed away half-a-year before she completed her training…”

Everyone hissed at the sudden news. Splinter frowned softly while Akira’s mouth twisted; both Persona and User in sympathy with her. Shinigami gritted her teeth in anger. “She died of …lung cancer before she could even see me passing the initiation on mysticism… Even though I was happy for achieving that goal… I… couldn’t even thank her on that day… I couldn’t tell her how much I appreciated all the time she believed in me when even my own parents didn’t!” She stomped her foot on the floor with quite some force, breathing heavily as she tried d to calm down.

Feeling a presence close to her, she turned around and saw everyone else gathered behind her. Their expressions were more than enough to make it clear for Shinigami that she wasn’t going to deal with this alone.

Karai was the first one to speak with a soft smile. “Shini, I think I speak for everyone here when I say this: we all are sure your grandmother would be so proud of you if she could see you that day”

“Totally” Ryuji was the next one to speak. “I don’t know ‘bout her, but I’m pretty sure if she could see you that day, she’d told your parents shit like ‘I TOLD YOU SO!’”

The place was quickly filled with words of agreement and encouragement that made Shini almost cry at how many great people she has in her life. 

“Thanks, guys. Seriously…” She spoke with a soft smile. “And besides, knowing my grandmother, there is only ONE way I could prove my gratitude that she’d accepted…”

“By helping Miwa destroying Saki’s criminal empire and restore the honor of the Foot Clan” Splinter said with a serious, fatherly tone.

Shini nodded. “Yes. My grandmother despised Shredder with every fiber of her being… She even said she will be glad to curse him from the grave once the cancer finished her off” She spoke with a venomous voice before fixing a gaze to Splinter and Lavenza with fire in her eyes. “And this, and awakening to this power, will be the perfect way I think I could fulfill that promise I made with her… by helping not only Karai…” She turned to her friends. “But to ALL of you as well…!”

Everyone in the room nodded to her as they all took a few steps back, allowing the witch to initiate the awakening process. With newfound determination, she removed the glove off her right hand and extended it to Lavenza. Sharing a nod with her, the assistant made an incision on her palm and extracted her blood on a different ink vase.

Once the ink vase was filled with enough blood, Lavenza gave Shinigami the vase and the writing plume. Without wasting any more time, she signed the contract with her full name.

_Tamako “Shinigami” Hiraoka._

“Tamako Hiraoka?” Akira asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s Shini’s birth name” Karai spoke from her place on the circle. “She changed her name to Shinigami when she completed her initiation as mystic witch. 

“‘A precious stone on a peaceful hill’” Splinter adds with a hand on his chin. “A beautiful name in my opinion”

“Thanks…” Shinigami says a bit sheepish. She hasn’t used that name in quite a while. With new found determination, the ninja witch rests her hand on the indicated page, ready for the spikes to come. “Alright, book. **Bring. It. On!** ” 

As if it listened to her command the book clamped her and, Shini shut her eyes close and tired her best to bit back a scream of agony as she felt the nails piercing her hand just like it did with Raphael. She could feel burning pricks of tears forming on her eyes as she cracked an eye open to gaze upon the blood droplets pouring out of the book as it started to glow in bright-blue.

She knew what was going to happen now…

“ _You made me wait quite a while, you know…_ ”

Everyone else just watched as Shinigami froze, feeling something piercing through her very skull as she fell on her knees and clutched her head with her free hand.

“ _You are determined to face the risks of your path for the sake of your own beliefs…? Very well…_ ”

She bit her lip, tasting the faint coppery blood on her tongue.

“ _Then I will be glad to lend you my strength… Prepare to embrace your dark side, my dear girl…_ ”

She gasped desperately as if she just reached the surface after almost drowning.

“ ** _I am thou… Thou art I…_** _Thou who has chosen to walk the path of mysticism with your own volition… **Unleash thy rage and cast the worst of never-ending nightmares on your foes!**_ ”

And just like with Raph, all pain was gone all of the sudden and Shinigami stood up without any worries as if she didn’t suffered the greatest headache of her life just a moment ago. Her face quickly enveloped by a dark mask with two horns going upwards. With a piercing gaze and a wicked grin, Shinigami gripped the mask with both hands and ripped the mask off with no hint of hesitation.

“ _Ok… let’s have some fun…_ ”

...her other self being called out. 

“ ** _Maleficent!_** ”

Just like with Raphael, Shini was enveloped by the towering flames of her unleashed soul and the savage winds blowing from them. Once the flames settled down, a newly-born Shinigami was revealed: She was wearing what could be better described as a deep dark-grey armor that covered all of her body except for her collarbones, shoulders, upper back and leaved a not too much revealing cleavage on her chest. Her attire included skull-shaped plates of shining obsidian on her shoulders, knees, elbows as well as a black necklace-like attachment protecting her throat with a small dark purple gen right above her chest. She also had a black belt with a dragon-skull-like buckle, all of that accompanied by a black cape that attached on her back. The head had just a standard helmet that was clear it matches with her mask.

Next to her, was her Persona: A woman with long black hair with a beautiful figure whose skin was completely dark as night, her face had nothing but two bright-green eyes without pupils. She was wearing a long dark-blue dress and had two long horns growing on her head and going upwards as well as two black dragon-like wings growing on her back, giving her an elegant yet sinister appearance. The Persona was wielding a golden staff with a crow sculpture on the top.

“I…” Shini muttered as she slowly started upon her hands. “I-I…”

“Shini, you ok…?” Karai asked concerned that her pseudo sister may not like this at all. 

But an even greater wicked grin flashed on her face.

“ _I’VE NEVER FELT SO ALIVE!!_ ” The ninja witch shouts while raising both arms into the air, letting out a cheerful yet slightly wicked cackle that resonated around the Velvet Room. 

The leader of the New Foot Clan just chuckled softly as she playfully punched her arm. “Don’t do that; you got me worried for a second!”

“Sorry. Is just, this feels…” The witch says to her partner as she keeps gazing at her hands. She quickly turns to the young assistant. “Lavenza, can I please have a mirror or something around here?”

With a nod and a soft smile, the young blue girl waves her hand and quickly, a good bunch of sparkles appears on the floor, right next to her. “Behold, your mental image of the rebel inside your soul” Lavenza manifests a mirror large enough to allow Shinigami to properly contemplate her new attire. The Foot witch removed the cape and takes a good look at her armor. Despite being made of metal, it felt pretty skin-tight, flexible and without any kind of restriction on her movements, as if she was wearing a leotard instead. She even struck some sexy poses in front of the mirror, clearly satisfied with the results. “Not bad… not bad at all” She said confident as she gave her reflection a flirty wink.

“Well… at least she’s happy with her thief attire” Ann mutters bitterly. Unlike Shinigami, Ann was still not happy for her own attire, especially for the cleavage and how skin-tight it is. Unfortunately for her, the witch managed to hear her.

“Honestly, Ann, I don’t know what you are complaining too much about…” Shini spoke with a raised eyebrow, a teasing smile and a hand on her hip. “I mean, look at you and Makoto. Those outfits and your figures; you two look as smoking hot as I do in my opinion” 

“Aw, shuddup, gothic bitch!” Ann groaned, feeling self-conscious as she felt her face blushing. “Unlike you, Queen and I are so NOT happy with our attires!”

“I’m sorry, Shini…” Makoto spoke, quite self-conscious and flustered as well. “I must agree with Ann; I seriously dislike my thief outfit as well.”

“I think you look pretty hot, my Queen” Akira spoke from the center of the circle.

“Of course YOU would say that!” Makoto just rolled her eyes; everyone else chuckled as the thief advisor was still blushing. Careful of not attracting Morgana’s attention, Ann turned to Ryuji, whom gave her a grin and a wink. She just rolled her eyes, stuck her tongue out to him and turned back with a pout. Luckily for the recently-born-couple, Morgana was distracted contemplating the transformed Shinigami.

“I must say, Shini – AND of course, is with all due respect, by the way –: You look pretty good on that armor” Morgana spoke with a polite yet amazed tone.

“Definitely, is pretty much the opposite of those weird female armors you see in most RPG’s where the girl practically shows everything; AND with the added bonus of having realistic body proportions!” Futaba quickly added.

The witch just laughed heartily. “Well, thanks, guys. And you’re right; this looks pretty awesome in my opinion!” She said with a confident smirk as she walked with Raph on the huge couch and sat down.

…but before reaching her destination, she felt a hand resting softly on her shoulder.

She turned around and saw Panther flashing a soft smile to her. Before Shinigami could ask something, Ann spoke first. “Karai’s right; we all are sure your grandma would be so proud of you if she could see you right now… and be sure we will help you fulfill that promise you made with her” She spoke with a firm but kind voice.

Shini smiled back at her as she suddenly gave her a sisterly hug. Shocked for a few seconds, Ann returned the hug.

“Thanks, Ann. To all of you” She whispered as they broke the hug and the thieves along with their new User partner returned on the couch with Raph.

“Welcome to the club, Shini” Raph extended his fist to him, allowing the witch to share a fist-bump with the turtle in bright-red armor. “But seriously, you can count on us for that, too. And you damn well know it”

“Thanks, Raph. And you were right; this was totally worth it” Shinigami said with a bright smile, practically beaming as the two ninjas-now-turned-Persona-users along with the Phantom Thieves turned to the rest of their New York friends gathering again into the circle…

…all of them are eager to see who will be the next one to awake to their power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maleficent - Death Arcana.
> 
> Trait - Midnight Snack: With successful attacks, Shinigami drains SP from enemies with status ailments. Allies have a 25% chance to do the same when attacking successfully. 
> 
> Affinity.  
> Weaknesses: Bless.  
> Resist: Phys, Gunfire, Nuke and Psy.  
> Immunities: Curse
> 
> Current Skills:  
> Eiga  
> Maeiga  
> Evil Touch  
> Pulpina  
> Ominous Words  
> Foul Breath  
> Fortify Spirit  
> Dodge Bless 
> 
> Background:  
> She was thoguth to be an evil fairy and self-proclaimed "Mistress of All Evil". In reality, Maleficent was a sympathetic, good-hearted but misunderstood and tragic fairy who protects herslef and her domain from humans. However, her skills with magic makes her a fearsome enemy. 
> 
> Author's note:
> 
> I think that with characters like Shinigami, whom has no known background, is both good and bad in my opinion because it allows fan-fic writters to create their own backstories for them.
> 
> And if you haven't noticed yet: Yes, this incarnation of Maleficent is based in Angelina Jolie's incarnation. Also, pretty much I suck at Japanese names. Sorry. :p
> 
> Thanks and have a nice day. :)

**Author's Note:**

> An ending an a beggining for a new fic? Crazy, right? Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy it and I apologize if this takes some time to be finished since I already said I only have weekends free to work on this.
> 
> Still, thanks for reading and have a nice day.
> 
> P.S. I know this may saound weird, but...
> 
> I'm open to Personae suggestions for April and Casey...


End file.
